The Blackeyed Susans

Songs themselves can occasionally have such a personality and magnetism to them that they simply demand to be recorded, even if that requires a band to reform after a decade apart. This was precisely the case with the seventh album release, Close Your Eyes And See, by The Blackeyed Susans.

In the early 2000s The Blackeyed Susans found themselves “at the crossroads of the future of the band.” Ultimately the various members of the band, who were all being pulled in seperate directions thanks to outside projects, chose to “return to a project based approach” explained Phil Kakulas.

During their time apart members of the group went on to work with The Drones and Courtney Barnett, as just two examples, which Kakulas believes has only helped The Blackeyed Susans now upon their reformation.

“That’s true and probably most evident with our producer Dan Luscombe, who played with the group all through the 90s and into the 2000s. He came back with a wealth of experience so it was great working with him again because he of course had an in depth understanding of the sound we were going for as someone who had helped create it in the first place.”

With such a range of experiences under their collective belts The Blackeyed Susans were able to record Close Your Eyes And See with a much more focused approach than they had previously. This not only meant that the process was reinvigorated energy wise but also was much quicker because they were “able to hit bullseyes much more often” during the experimentation phase.

Now to celebrate the reformation and new album The Blackeyed Susans are on the road touring, stopping in Sydney this weekend.

For these shows at the Leadbelly the group are performing twice, once as a matinee and once as regular evening performance. This is a format which Kakulas said has worked for them in the past and is also something that they particularly enjoy.

“The matinee has such a different atmosphere to it, it can be a little more casual and relaxed which in turn allows you to mix up the set a little bit more than you would for the night show.”

As such the band are looking forward to bringing their “lush, moody, mysterious show” to life across the two times as they “celebrate this brutal, beautiful world we live in.”

Just as you leave a matinee cinema, the reality of daylight is stark after being ensconced in another world.
The music of the Blackeyed Susans spans more than 20 years, I guess and in those guises they have a live element.
The core to these odes of lost joy is the bass and drums by Phil Kakulas and Mark Dawson. The band works in collusion in and away from a heart and soul.